Skip to content

Sustain and Snap

by Lucy Hale

Instrumentation
Cello
Composed
2014
Duration
2'41''
Publisher
Unpublished
More by this composer

Purchase or download

About this piece

A short piece for solo cello by Lucy Hale (1994–2021), a Manchester composer, wheelchair user and Drake Music associate artist who wrote about how her disability shaped the way she composed, entirely through notation software. The cellist Georgina Aasgaard, who later premiered Hale's cello miniatures Warnings, Falling On Ears That Refused to Hear, describes it as a short solo that shows the range of sounds one cello can make. Hale posted a recording made in January 2014 on her SoundCloud. After her death it was played at a Royal Philharmonic Society tribute at Wigmore Hall in June 2021 and at Echoes, Drake Music Scotland's concert of music by disabled composers, at the Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, in June 2022. No score is published; Drake Music may be able to help.

Technical overview

No technical overview is available yet.

Level rubric

Professional

Left Hand

  • Complete command of the fingerboard.
  • Proficient thumb position across all strings.
  • Execute complex double stops and rapid trills precisely.
  • Fast scales and leaps with precise intonation and speed.
  • Apply expressive techniques (portamenti, micro‑adjusted intonation) tastefully.
  • Easily execute false harmonics.

Right Hand

  • Seamlessly blends martelé, spiccato, sautillé, legato & ricochet.
  • Meticulous bow distribution for sustained lines or rapid passages.
  • Clear pianissimo to controlled fortissimo.
  • Economical, efficient bow movement with smooth transitions.
  • Employ advanced effects (ponticello, bow effects) artistically.

Musicality

  • Focus on a deeply personal, communicative performance.
  • Make interpretive choices reflecting deep understanding of form, style & emotion.
  • Convey nuanced phrasing, wide dynamic range & a unique artistic voice.
  • Craft dramatic cadenzas/solos with rubato, tone & expressive timing.

Levels are approximate guides, not strict requirements.